1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a container of substantially cuboid form for at least two articles, in particular for a recording carrier and an insert in sheet or card form, bottom and top parts of said container being provided with at least one side wall part and one rear wall part each and having at least one dividing intermediate wall, which divides the cuboid-form interior into at least two receiving spaces lying flat one above the other for the articles.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Such a container for an audio-tape cassette, which is referred to as a one-hand case and is open on one side, is known. This one-hand case comprises a bottom part and a top part, the bottom part being formed with one rear wall and two long side walls and the top part, in the form of an L in cross section, being connected to the edges of the rear wall and of one side wall of the bottom part, and the second side wall being connected to the bottom wall, extending around it at a distance. The bottom wall is formed with a rectangular cutout, so that it forms a frame body. Arranged at the edges of the long side walls are webs, arranged parallel to the bottom wall and at a distance from the top wall, so that above the webs there is a space for the cassette and below the webs and laterally between bottom part and top part there is an L-shaped space for a folding insert. Since the latter space is not completely filled by the folding insert or other documentation material, the container undergoes a considerable bending deflection at this wall, in particular if the outer packaging of the container takes the form of a shrink film. In the case of the plastics used, this bending deflection is transformed from the elastic range into the permanently deformed range after storage for a short time, with the result that afterwards the insertion and removal of the folding insert is at least made more difficult.
The production of the bottom part by injection molding requires a very complicated and expensive injection mold having a plurality of slides, and automatic ejecting of the finished molding is made considerably more difficult.
It is an object of the present invention to improve a container of the type described at the beginning, in particular with a view to simple production by injection molding, and also to facilitate its handling.
We have found that this object is achieved with a container of substantially cuboid form for at least two articles, in particular for a recording carrier and an insert in sheet or card form, bottom and top parts of said container being provided with at least one side wall part and one rear wall part each and having at least one dividing intermediate wall, which divides the cuboid-form interior into at least two receiving spaces lying flat one above the other for the articles, by said container comprising as the intermediate wall a movable, substantially flat wall part which has approximately perpendicularly to its surface at least one continuation which corresponds in its height approximately to the clear height of at least one of the receiving spaces.
By providing such a movable wall part, both handling during removal of cassette and insert and production by injection molding are considerably improved and, in addition, the risk of permanent deformation of the container is significantly reduced.
The movable wall part may be formed as a separate wall part, which makes production very much more simple and inexpensive, or it may also be produced such that it is connected to one of the bottom or top parts, in particular by means of a film hinge, with the result that simplified and cost-effective production in comparison with the prior art is likewise achieved.
The movable wall part is expediently arranged vertically displaceably between the side wall parts of the bottom part and/or top part. Consequently, the respective receiving compartment of the container about to be filled can be set in size for filling by displacing the movable wall part and, by displacing again, the other compartment can similarly be made accessible.
This mobility or displaceability is able to be accomplished by the wall part having a width, or the side wall parts having a distance from each other such that the wall part is able to be fixed, in particular able to be clamped in, releasably between the mutually facing surfaces of the side wall parts.
The inner surfaces of the mutually facing side wall parts may have for this purpose a conicity, in particular in the range of 3.degree..
The wall part is, however, to be clamped in between the side wall part surfaces with a clamping force of less than 200 mN. It is also favorable if on the side wall parts there are provided catching lugs which can be overcome when the wall part is vertically displaced.
This allows a desired position of the wall part to be set effortlessly. It is expedient for reasons of stability and strength that in the region of the front edge of the wall part there is provided a transverse rib, by the height of which the clear height of a receiving space is determined. This transverse rib thus likewise acts as a continuation for the purposes of the present invention.
In practice, the continuation may be formed on the wall part as a holding continuation at the rear end, the height of which corresponds approximately to the sum of the clear heights of the two receiving spaces.
It is also favorable if on the wall part there is provided at least one catching or arresting lug for the article to be received in the container, in particular for the recording carrier. It is also favorable in terms of production if arresting projections are provided on the at least one holding continuation, and if clearances are provided in the wall part above the arresting projections.
It is advantageous in practice for the bottom part to be formed substantially by a bottom wall and rear and side wall parts. This dispenses with the resting webs and achieves simple production. The top part expediently substantially comprises the top wall and a long side wall part and is consequently likewise easy to produce.
The bottom wall and/or top wall or an outer side wall part may have a cutout, in particular a rectangular cutout, for pushing out the article received.
In terms of material and in terms of design it is favorable if the movable wall part has a cutout, in particular a rectangular cutout.
Exemplary embodiments of the invention are represented in the drawing and described below.